1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to fishing apparatus and, more particularly, is directed to a novel and unique means for catching fish which may be used either alone or in combination with standard lures and fish hooks.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Most, if not all, of the devices presently utilized to catch fish employ one or more metal, barbed fish hooks for this purpose. Such hooks, in order to perform their function, must normally be drawn into the mouth of the fish and either swallowed or, depending upon the sensitivity of the fisherman to the strike, may be set into the mouth cavity of the fish by a quick tug or jerk on the line. A disadvantage of the latter technique is that, clearly, a fisherman must be very sensitive to the initial contact by the fish lest the strike go unnoticed. It would clearly be advantageous if some means were provided which could somehow decrease the required sensitivity of the fisherman by holding the fish in position until the hook could be properly set without requiring undue speed, alertness or skill.
It would also be advantageous if a means for catching fish could be developed which did not require a conventional metal fish hook. The reasons for wanting to dispense with the requirement for a hook are numerous. Hooks are expensive and must be manufactured in a plurality of different sizes in order to enable the many different sizes of fish to be caught. The hook must be strong enough to function without being destroyed by the teeth of the fish. Barbed metal hooks can also damage the fish and cause the fish to resist being pulled in, sometimes to the extent that not only is the fish lost, but it is caused to suffer serious injury or death.
Modern day fishing lures use hooks in combination with a variety of artificial lures, some of which include strands or skirts of material which may become entangled in the hook to reduce the latter's fish catching ability. Such entanglement also reduces the ability of the lure to perform its fish attracting function.
Some of the foregoing reasons pertaining to disadvantages of using conventional fish hooks have been recognized by others in the field. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,757,452 discloses a hookless lure which comprises a tassle-like arrangement of a bundle of thousands of elongated fibers, each of the fibers having a minute diameter on the order of 0.004 inches, which may be comprised, for example, of nylon, and which are intended to catch billfish by contacting and thereby adhering to the rough black scaly surface of the bill of the fish. While such a device may be useful, the teachings of the patent are clearly limited to catching billfish or fish which have rough exterior surfaces to which such tassles may become adhered.